The application generally relates to a vehicle component assembly and to a process for improving vehicle craftsmanship. The application relates more specifically to nonionic polymeric colorant covering materials for spray application to vehicle components, including foam vehicle components, and an associated process for improving vehicle seat craftsmanship.
Vehicle craftsmanship directly influences consumer purchasing decisions. Motor vehicles include a substantial number of assembled components having multiple design considerations. The same holds true for a vehicle seat. In the vehicle seat, there are seat portions having foam such as the vehicle seat back and seat cushion. The foam typically has a white or substantially yellow colored tone; however, vehicle interiors are commonly gray, black or beige in color. When the light colored foam is visible, it contrasts with darker toned portions of the vehicle interior; the foam can easily be noticed and draw unwanted attention to that area of the vehicle interior.
One potential solution proposed by some foam manufacturers is to include a dye within the foam mixture. The appearance of the colored foam is less noticeable (or at least compliments the other components of the vehicle). While providing colored foam makes the foam less noticeable, it may be costly and potentially complicates the overall production process.
Marking of the foam has been utilized to color code areas of the foam so as to identify preferred assembly positions. However, the color-coding is typically applied to small areas and in a manner to be identified not concealed. For example, a green or red circle may be provided on the surface of the foam to indicate an upward position of mounting a foam seat cushion with respect to the seat frame. Likewise a red mark on the surface of a foam seat cushion may indicate the corresponding vehicle—in a multi-vehicle assembly line—for the seat cushion. Inapposite to camouflaging, flagging a surface of the foam serves to identify and bring attention to certain sections of the vehicle components.
Another method of covering foam pieces is to provide fabric that is applied to the molding cavity of the foam prior to molding the foam. The fabric is placed in the mold cavity and the polyurethane mixture is dispensed therein. Such additional parts can prove to be a costly addition to the price of the vehicle component.
Another method of concealing certain areas of vehicle components is to apply a plastic covering material or plastic insert covering the offending white area of the foam from vehicle occupants as a finishing step before shipment. Again, this may have significant cost implications on the vehicle component due to the need for additional parts.
Despite known methods for marking vehicle components to simplify the manufacturing process, craftsmanship issues persist regarding the visibility of off-colored vehicle components.